Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1911 - 1919

This postcard was sent by Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp to Philip Zilcken. It's made from paper, printed with a design in green ink, and then handwritten in black ink. Paper itself is an interesting material. Before industrialization, it was a precious commodity, made by hand, sheet by sheet. By the time this card was sent, paper production had been mechanized for decades. This meant that sending a message became cheap and easy. The card itself is a mass-produced object. The postal system itself, likewise, is a product of industrialization. Both relied on networks of transportation and labor. As everyday objects, postcards are easy to overlook, yet they are also potent reminders of how technology has reconfigured our social lives, and how we communicate with one another. What seems commonplace now was once extraordinary. The card is not just a message; it is a material artifact of modernity.